How to clean a Leather sofa | part 1 | how to identify your leather type

Scotclean Solutions carpet and upholstery cleaning company in Glasgow provides a full Leather cleaning, leather colour enhancing and leather repair service in Glasgow.

We are often asked by customers how to clean and maintain their leather so we have created this 3 part guide to cleaning and protecting your leather. 

• Need to know how to clean your leather sofa?
• Or how to go about repairing your leather sofa? 

This leather cleaning guide will help you on your way to help you clean your leather sofa and more importantly tell you what cleaning methods to avoid when cleaning your leather sofa or when cleaning any leather upholstery for that matter. 

PART 1 LEATHER IDENTIFICATION  

How to identify your leather type and examples of the different types of leather. 

Some customers are looking for a quick fix and some are looking to maintain the leather between cleans. 

We have heard some horror stories from customers regarding old wives tales and just plain old miss-information thats always present on the internet. 

The problems begin when folk assume that all leather was created equal, to the average everyday person this is the case.

In the real world leather is a fickle natural material, with all the beauty and natural markings that go with the conditions and environment in which the animal was raised. 

The variables a professional Leather cleaning company will consider when inspecting your leather include things like the type of hide, each animal used in the production of leather has very different properties and will react differently to the various treatment process the leather undergoes in the manufacturing process. 

 HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR LEATHER TYPE

At Scotclean Solutions, Our leather cleaning technicians would not start cleaning before we had identified the leather type.

For the home DIY cleaner,  this is where the problems really start, again those who know leather will know that leather in it’s purest form, Aniline leather,  is the most beautiful leather available. It’s also the most difficult leather to care for and the most susceptible to damage by incorrect cleaning techniques and solutions.

Aniline leather is so expensive and exclusive you will probably know if you own a piece of aniline upholstered furniture. Most customers can tell us it’s an aniline piece when they call to book our leather cleaning service. 

Aniline Leather

some of the characteristics of Aniline leather.

• very soft to touch
• natural grain of the leather is visible.
• it’s an absorbent leather.
• colour is dye based, not surface pigment coated. 
• Natural, uneven colour shading
• not resistant to soiling

If you have stains on your Aniline leather then you should always seek the services of a professional leather cleaning specialist. Do not attempt home cleaning unless you are confident you know what you are doing, Any moisture on the leather will cause water marks 

HOW TO IDENTIFY ANILINE LEATHER:

• take your finger and lick the end so it’s slightly wet, choose an unnoticeable part on your leather item and place your finger on the leather for a few seconds, if the leather has darkened and is damp when you remove your finger then it is very likely aniline leather. 

NEVER EVER EVER USE BABY WIPES TO CLEAN ANILINE LEATHER. You will destroy the finish on the leather and full re colour restoration will result in a four figure bill. 

A professional cleaning company will use a foam based cleaning solution to clean your aniline leather. We never apply anything directly onto the leather, always using special leather cleaning sponges or natural horse hair brushes designed to dislodge dirt while being gentle on the leather finish. 

 Semi Aniline Leather

Some of the characteristics of Semi Aniline leather. 

• Light surface coating 
• Colour is pigment dye applied to leather surface
• More resistant to soiling
• Consistent colour 
•  light resistance to spillages

Semi aniline Leather is more robust than natural aniline leather as the colour is applied as a pigment sprayed onto the leather finish. This allows manufactures to produce leather in consistent colours throughout their ranges. 

Semi aniline leather is cleaned in the same way by a professional leather cleaning company.

HOW TO IDENTIFY SEMI ANILINE LEATHER:

• Using a magnifying glass is one of the best ways to check, if you examine the leather you will see the grain and hair follicles visible but coated in a fine layer of pigment, The lacquer finish on the pigment also makes semi aniline leather more slippery to the touch. 

Pigment coated leather

Some of the characteristics of pigment coated leather

• easy to care for
• wipe clean surface
• extremely resistant to stains 
• water resistant, deals with spills well
• extremely durable and hard wearing
• long life span
• wide assortment of bright vibrant colours available. 

Pigment coated leather is finished with a polymer paint coating with a protective lacquer layer on the pigment. This is one of the easiest leathers to care for at home and is used by a a majority of lather furniture manufactures from budget sofas to high end leather furniture. 

HOW TO IDENTIFY PIGMENT COATED LEATHER

Pigment coated leather can be easily identified if the leather item is brightly and vibrantly coloured, failing this testing the water absorption will identify pigment coated leather as the pigment finish with lacquer finish provides a waterproof seal to the leather stopping water absorption. The wet finger test explained in the aniline test will help identify pigment coated leather. 

At Scotclean Solutions Leather repair Glasgow, our cleaning technicians also protect the leather once we have finished cleaning. This is essential with any leather we clean although it is more important with aniline and semi aniline leather. The reason for this is the protector we use protects the finish the manufacturers apply to the Leather. With semi aniline leather the pigment coating is applied thinly to preserve the natural feel and grain of the leather as much as possible. The manufactures finish will break down over time with use, wear and exposure to the environment. Once gone, the leather is left susceptible to cracking, discolouring and becomes absorbent taking on body oils with ease.  

Thats all for this part of our cleaning series. How to clean a leather sofa. 

If you have any questions about your leather cleaning please see our website www.scotcleansolutions.co.uk and use the contact form to drop us a mail. 

We try to respond to all questions within 24 hours. 

Thanks for reading our Blog. We will be back with more next week, until then,  keep it clean folks 🙂  

 Jamie.

Restoration tech at http://www.scotcleansolutions.co.uk 

Scotclean Solutions Glasgow. 

how to avoid damaging your expensive carpet when attempting carpet stain removal.

carpet stain removal

WHEN ATTEMPTING TO REMOVE STAINS IN YOUR CARPET OR UPHOLSTERY USING DIY REMEDIES, PLEASE BEWARE OF THE FOLLOWING. 

Many of the chemicals included in products marketed towards home stain removal remedies are extremely harmful to humans and animals.

Most of the products containing the term ‘oxy’ contain bleach,  which will lighten some carpet fibres  and upholstery materials. The most at risk from these treatments are natural materials like wool and cotton.

These supermarket remedies are also extremely concentrated, we have been called out to numerous jobs where customers have used full bottles in attempts to remove stains, leaving the carpets in terrible condition.

 

Rinse, Rinse, Rinse,

When using ANY cleaning product on your carpet, the key to removing all the residues and preventing rapid re-soiling of the area you have cleaned is too rinse, rinse, rinse.

 

If you have a wet vac then this is ideal.

Using a spray bottle you can lightly mist the area you have cleaned with tepid fresh water while simultaneously vacuuming the area with a floor tool on your wet vac hose.

The idea is to create a rinsing action, not allowing the carpet to become wet, just misting and vacuuming the area should remove most of the residue leftover in your carpet.

 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO REMOVE ALL THE RESIDUE?

 

Soap residue left in your carpet quickly becomes sticky, once this happens, any dirt that would normally vacuum up dry is bonded onto the sticky carpet fibres. Once dirt is attracted to the carpet no amount of home cleaning is going to remedy the problem and you will need to call in a professional carpet cleaning company.

 

Scotclean Solutions, a commercial carpet cleaning company based in Glasgow and other professional residential carpet cleaning companies or commercial carpet cleaning companies use industrial extraction machines.

These are large twin or triple vacuum units capable of spraying water through the carpet pile wile recovering the flow of water via the large vacuums.

 

There is no way to match the power or efficiency of these machines and the costs go into the thousands.  There is just no comparison with little supermarket hire machine or rental machine. 

 

Scotclean Solutions Carpet cleaning guide. Nail polish removal from wool carpet and rugs Guide No.1

We all know the feeling when you tip over a bottle of nail polish and it spills onto a nice cream wool carpet. That feeling is instant horror, ruined carpet is an expensive replacement. 

Wouldn’t it be nice to know how to tackle a stain like this yourself using products you probably have in the cupboards at home and if you don’t only cost a few pounds to buy. Well read on. 

Those nice chaps at Scotclean solutions carpet and upholstery cleaning, have put together a guide aimed specifically at wool carpets and rugs. These options may work on synthetic carpets too, If you are going to try always test in an inconspicuous area first. 

Enjoy your guide, feel free to print if off to keep as a handy reference. If there are any stains you would like us to provide a removal guide for please comment or mail us. 

Stain Removal tips for wool carpets. No.1 NAIL POLISH

If in any doubt regarding the correct cleaning procedure or if there is no change to the stain using the recommended treatment you should contact a professional carpet cleaner to deal with the stain. 

Scotclean solutions, 55 Underwood road, Paisley, 07546 337 370 http://www.scotcleansolutions.co.uk
Please note that while this advice is offered in good faith, no responsibility is accepted for claims arising from the treatments proposed. 

Items required:

• 1x White terry cotton cloth
• 1x Nail polish remover
• 1x White paper towel
• 1x Mineral turpentine\Dry cleaning fluid or lighter fuel
• 1x Small house fan
• 1x Carpet brush

Start by removing as much excess nail polish from the soil as possible. Using small amount of nail polish remover to soak a small piece of white cotton cloth.

When applying this to the stain be careful not to spread the stain. Working inwards with the cloth from the outer perimeter of the stain, a dabbing or blotting motion will prevent the stain spreading.

Do not over wet!

Excessive moisture can make the problem worse, spreading the stain and causing rings on the surface.

 DO NOT RUB: At any point during the cleaning process.

The stain may be spread over a larger area and the surface and texture of the woolen product may be damaged.

Repeat this process with clean pieces of cotton towel until the stain is removed. Blot up excess moisture from the stained area by applying pressure with white absorbent kitchen paper towels.

CAUTION: for the next step ensure there are no naked flames present in the area.

Next, soak a small piece of cloth in Dry cleaning fluid, turpentine or lighter fuel.

Using a small amount at a time, work inwards from the outside of the stain using a dabbing and blotting motion again.

Blot up any excess moisture from the area again using paper towels.

RINSE THE AREA

By applying clean, cold water to a small piece of white cotton towel and repeat the dabbing motion working inwards again.

A cloth placed over the area and blown dry with a fan will speed up the drying process.

When completely dry use a carpet brush to gently restore the pile.

There, The process is complete and you should now be looking at a clean, fresh, rinsed piece of carpet. 

 For further advice or to book a carpet cleaner in Scotland email office@scotcleansolutions.co.uk or call 07546 337 370 Scotclean carpet and upholstery cleaning solutions. 

Scotclean carpet cleaning discusses the health issues in your home

Your carpets are a breeding ground for allergen aggravators. In the summer you have pollen blowing in through windows and doors and latching onto the fibers in your carpet. This is bad for asthma sufferers, anyone with skin problems and it’s unpleasant for everyone in the home.

In the winter you have a host of creepy crawlies migrating into the nice warm shelter of your home and finding residence in the corners and under furniture to breed through the winter. 

Only by employing a good carpet cleaning and maintenance plan with a reputable carpet cleaning company you can trust, like Scotclean Solutions for example,  will you be in the position to eradicate allergy in the home.

Scotclean Solutions can be found by visiting their website at http://www.scotcleansolutions.co.uk

Jamie from ScotClean tells us how they carry out a deep clean in your home to remove the danger that’s lurking in your carpets, rugs and bedding.

 

Thanks, Well when we carry out a clean in a customers home we start by identifying any potential problems, are there any pets, do they have children?  Are there any odour problems?

Pets can cause unseen problems. We can use a powerful black light to test for hidden ‘accidents’ on the carpets and rugs in the home. It’s also effective in showing up problems with bedding, the mattress in particular. Once we have surveyed the carpets we create a cleaning plan tailored around your needs. As we are an independent company we are not locked into one method of cleaning your carpets.

We set to work using our Eco friendly cleaning solutions, being a green company we care about the planet and both our and our customers’ health. No one wants  to be exposed to nasty chemicals used in the name of cleaning your home.. some of these things do just as good a job at cleaning your Lungs.. not in a good way.

 

Our cleaning process uses a plant based cleaning solution that attacks proteins and organic soil. This breaks down the dust mites’ excrement and the source of their food. We scrub the carpet with a large twin brush scrubbing with the purpose being to break loose any dust mite eggs or larvae stuck to the base of the carpet fibers. The next step is to deal with any stains or deep soiling with additional stain treatment carried out at this time.

When we are almost done we fire up the steam-cleaning machine. This injects steam deep into the carpet base killing any residual bugs and bacteria in the carpet.

The final phase of the clean is to extract all the leftover solution and dirt using high pressure water to flush the carpet and vacuum at the same time removing all the dirt, pollen, soil, dust mites and eggs.

Your carpets are left clean and healthy. There is nothing more satisfying than helping customers achieve a healthy home. Carpets the full family can enjoy.

 

To enquire about our services you can call Scotclean solutions on 0141 246 1025 or 07546 337 370. You can also email us at office@scotcleansolutions.co.uk

DIY carpet cleaners. The good, the bad and the ugly. A pro carpet cleaners view

Hire at the supermarket cleaners.

The pros and cons.

 

As a professional carpet cleaner with years of experience cleaning every type of carpet possible I can say with confidence I wouldn’t use a machine I could hire from the store.

There are a few reasons for this. Now I’m not writing them off completely. These machines have their place but cleaning the carpets in a full house is not one of them.

I’d liken it to using a pair of sheers to cut a full lawn. If used for the correct purpose then you have a useful tool but used out of context it’s going to give you a sub standard finish and cause more problems than it solves.

Some of the differences between the equipment and solutions we use and the products available to buy over the counter or hire with machines from the supermarket are:

 

DETERGENT: we use detergent free cleaning, this means no soap residue left in your carpet making it re-soil quickly.

 

CLEAR RINSE: We use fresh water rinsing to be doubly sure your carpets stay clean for longer.

 

SINGLE VACUUM: Machines to hire are utilize a single vacuum motor to try suck the water back out your carpet. This is underpowered and leaves your carpet wet and at risk of shrinkage.

 

TRIPLE VACUUM: We use a machine with triple vacuum units. Recovering more than 3 times the amount of water from your carpets. Our machine is so big it stays outside your home, we run our tools from industrial pressure hoses to keep the dirt on the outside of your home.

 

PSI PRESSURE : Machines to hire rarely have a water pump that goes above 80 psi. The PSI is important as it represent the force with which the water is flushed through the carpet, dislodging dirt and grime from the carpet fiber.

 

800 PSI. Our machines use commercial water pumps with variable selection from 0-800 PSI. This allows us to even tackle the cleaning of your hard floors, marbles, patios, and tilling.

 

DRY TIMES: We use industrial room drying equipment to ensure your carpets are left dry before we leave removing the risk of shrinking and stains wicking back through the carpet base altogether.

 

ScotClean Solutions provides a much safer and in the long run cheaper alternative to attempting to do it yourself

 

You should give the website a look, http://www.scotcleansolutions.co.uk to review the services on offer. 

End of tenancy cleaning for landlords and tenants

If your moving out of or into your rented home, you probably need an end of tenancy clean or a start of tenancy clean.

This is an essential service if you want to guarantee the return of your deposit as Landlords usually stipulate that your home is professionally cleaned before you vacate the tenancy.

Scotclean solutions is the ideal company for this type of clean.

We offer a complete range of cleaning solutions to take care of your bathroom, kitchen, living room, flooring, carpets and upholstery.

Employ us to take care of the full clean or just the problem bits you don’t like. Our professional staff clean deep.

The team can be contacted on 07546 337 370 or 0141 246 1025.

EOT cleaning is available to residential customers and landlords. Discounted rates are available for landlords with bulk ordering. 

Reality hits home, the carpets are more than dirty

Now the kids are off to school reality sinks in. The reality of the cleaning, which, has mounted up over the summer has hit home like a sledgehammer. You’re at home trying to relax but you can’t. The stain on the carpet wont allow it, the oven is black, the tiles have become dull and faded and the black grime you have been cultivating in the grout makes you want to cry every time you need to visit the kitchen and bathroom.

We have all been there. Modern mums are expected to care and nurture the kids, and yes that could be seen as a sexist view but it’s not. I’m a realist, I realise we are all equal in the eyes of the PC brigade but we are not in the eyes of a child. Children will always seek the maternal care a mother can provide. So not only are you primary care giver, sandwich maker, and homework assistant. You are also likely to be working a 30-40 hour week and finding time to get the shopping in.

You cant be blamed for leaving the carpet cleaning and forgetting all about the tiles for a while but when reality hits home you need a good carpet and upholstery cleaning company, the kind of company that makes a doddle of organising and staying on top of your floor cleaning requirements.

ScotClean Solutions is one of those companies. Based in Paisley they cover the whole of the West of Scotland including Glasgow and the central belt.

Starting out at a Carpet cleaning business they grew and grew to become the complete cleaning solution for customers all over Scotland.

Call them now on 07546 337 370 to discus any cleaning needs you may have.

You can check out the website on http://www.scotcleansolutions.co.uk although it’s a little sparse on detail it gives a good overview of the services they provide.

Best giving the guys in the office a call to talk your needs over.